Changes to GCSEs
Following Ofqual's announcement in December 2011, a number of changes will be made to the current GCSE qualification. The changes were proposed in the Government's White Paper The Importance of Teaching, published in November 2010
NEW Subject specific information
This page has been updated with subject specific changes and timelines. For more details, please see below.
What are the changes?
We can confirm that the key changes are:
- to make all GCSEs, taken after summer 2013, linear in structure
- to include a requirement for spelling, punctuation and grammar marks in English Literature, Geography, History and Religious Studies, for examinations sat after September 2012.
Timelines
The timelines for these changes are as follows.
- Candidates will be required to take all GCSE assessments at the end of the course for awards made from summer 2014 onwards.
- Question papers in English Literature, Geography, History and Religious Studies with extra marks awarded for spelling punctuation and grammar will first be sat by candidates in January 2013.
For subject specific timelines please see below.
How does this affect you and your teaching?
The changes will affect the following areas of the GCSEs.
- In most subject specifications all units will be taken together in the summer term with no re-sit opportunities for individual units.
- We may change the structure and size of units for some subjects so they work better when all are taken in the same series. We will inform you if anything is to change.
- With the exception of those subjects introducing spelling, punctuation and grammar marks, there will be no content, style or method of assessment changes to specifications.
- Mathematics, English and English Language will be the only subjects to offer examinations outside the summer series. These will be in November.
- As with other units, students must enter the Controlled Assessment unit in the series in which they certificate
- Students can still do their Controlled Assessment tasks at any time during their course
- Where the tasks change each year, students must do a task which is valid for the year of certification
- Students who re-sit a whole GCSE may re-use their previous Controlled Assessment mark, as long as it has been moderated and aggregated, or may do the Controlled Assessment unit again.
- Students can carry forward their unit results from a GCSE to a double award in the same subject where units overlap.
- Students cannot carry forward unit results from a short course to a full course.
- Separate marks will be awarded for spelling, punctuation and the accurate use of grammar in written and externally assessed units where a sufficient level of extended writing is required
- Marks must be allocated to individual questions and students must be aware which questions include marks for spelling, punctuation and grammar
- No fewer than 3 marks for spelling, punctuation and grammar should be allocated to any single question and the marks allocated must achieve a total weighting of 5% of the total marks for the qualification
- Ofqual expect the mark schemes and total raw marks will be changed but not the number of questions or question types.
- Ofqual are concerned about the impact of these changes on schools and learners, the importance of stability and comparability year on year. They are proposing no further changes to the requirements for GCSEs before the redevelopment arising from the National Curriculum Review
- It is expected that the new Key Stage 4 curriculum in English, Maths and Science will be introduced for teaching from September 2014 but Ofqual are in initial discussions with the Department for Education and awarding bodies
- Decisions on the timescales for the introduction of the new curriculum will be made in early 2012.
Subject specific information
In line with Government policy, all GCSE English subject examinations in England will become linear rather than modular. For example, students will no longer be able to sit unit 1 in January, and unit 3 in June. All units must take place in one exam series at the end of the course.
In English and English Language, there are no changes to existing specification content other than the requirement for assessment to be linear.
Re-sits
We will be unable to offer an assessment opportunity in January 2014, or any subsequent January for English Language. We will move this to the November series, so the qualification will be available in the June and November series moving forward. English Literature will only be available in June.
All maths exams are to move to terminal assessment in England. We will continue to offer our three unit specification, alongside our linear, two paper specification. The reasons for this are:
- The three unit structure allows you to choose the tier of entry for each unit - in linear specifications, both papers have to be taken at the same tier. This may benefit some students, particularly those around the C/D borderline who may find some parts of the course more accessible and engaging. Entering them for the higher tier gives them the opportunity to get a grade B which might otherwise not be possible.
- Schools, teachers and students are familiar with the unitised structure and the content of the three units. Whilst the move to terminal assessment means that the content can be taught in the order teachers choose, keeping the three unit format will make it easier to work with the resources teachers already have.
- Linear and unitised specifications have different weightings of non-calculator assessment (40% and 33% respectively in our case).
How the specifications are changing
GCSE Mathematics 4360 (AQA's unitised specification)
- The terminal rule, which previously required 40% of the assessment to be taken in the student's final examination series, will be increased to 100%, this means that all units must be done in the same series.
November 2013 will be the last opportunity to take the unitised specification in a modular fashion. This could be as a re-sit or first entry in the subject.
- The March series will not be available in 2014, or in any subsequent March.
- The content of each unit, and the ability to take units at different tiers, will remain the same.
GCSE Mathematics 4365 (AQA's linear specification)
- This specification will not change as part of these reforms for June examinations.
We are unable to offer an assessment opportunity in January 2014, or any subsequent January. We will move this to the November series, so the qualification will be available in June and November moving forward.
All science exams are to become linear in England. From summer 2014, this means that 100% of the assessment must take place in a single examination series. This change does have some benefits; more time can be taken to teach the subject and there is more flexibility as to when any part of the course is taught, as long as students are prepared for the summer examination series.
We will be unable to offer an assessment opportunity in January 2014, or any subsequent January for science.
View our science specific timelines:
GCSE examinations are to become linear in England. From summer 2014, this means that 100% of the assessment must take place in a single examination series. Both of the AQA History specifications, Specification A (4040) and Specification B (4045) are affected by this change. This requirement extends to both Full Course and Short Course.
This means that we will be unable to offer an assessment opportunity in GCSE History B in January 2014, or any subsequent January - instead exams will only be offered in the summer series (GCSE History A is already only offered in the summer series).
Sitting all exams at the end of a GCSE course will reduce the disruption to teaching arising from modular exams and give more time for learning. Both of AQA's history specifications have just two exam units, so students should find preparation for these exams manageable. In both specifications the content for unit 1 is discrete from the content for unit 2. This makes it easy for departments to share the delivery of the course and for students to understand what content is examined on the two papers.
Language exams are to become linear in England. From summer 2014, this means that 100% of the assessment must take place in a single examination series. For students starting a two year course in September 2012, all units have to be taken at the end of the course in a linear fashion and students may take each unit only once before certification. The format of the specification is unchanged; there are four units, Listening and Reading remain at 20% each and Controlled Assessment for Speaking and Writing is still 30%.
As part of the Government changes, any students who take a short course will not be able to carry forward unit results in order to aggregate to a full course. This is a change from the current rules.
01 May 2012
As you may be aware, linear assessment and the separate assessment of Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar (SPaG) are now required in Geography GCSE specifications. Our current specifications (4030 and 4035) have been submitted to Ofqual to incorporate these changes.
Ofqual is also undertaking a full accreditation review of all Geography specifications and specimen assessment materials.
What does that mean for you?
We're currently in discussions with Ofqual and as soon as we understand how the changes will affect you, we will let you know. We will also be providing a full range of teaching resources and materials.
To receive the latest information on these changes, please register for updates. If you would like to talk to us about any aspect of GCSE Reform please contact the Subject Department.
Will the changes to GCSEs affect all schools?
The changes will affect GCSEs offered in England.
Wales
The Welsh Government has not yet decided whether the linear requirement will apply in Wales.
We have contacted all of our schools and colleges about the changes. For science, we will continue to offer a modular option. For English and maths, we are still considering the viability of continuing to offer a modular specification.
If your school or college would be interested in following an AQA modular specification in maths, please email us. We will make a final decision when we have more information.
What happens next?
We have implemented these changes in our specifications and they have been sent to Ofqual for reaccreditation. In most cases this has involved minor changes in wording to clarify the change to 100% terminal assessment.
In a few cases, there may be wider changes in assessment structures. In all cases, we will keep you informed at every stage. We will work closely with you to ensure that any changes are understood and do not adversely affect you and your students.
